Beginnings of "The Art of a Woman" Project

Well, suppose it's time to unveil some of the things I'm working on here in Studio B. I've done nothing but post about snow lately. Thankfully, all that has given me lots of uninterrupted and focused studio time. (Except for shoveling and feeding the wood stove of course.) It all starts with a sketch...

Then it's time to figure out the engineering, LOL! The theme for all the looks will begin with the phrase "She is..." In this case: "She is beginning to bloom." And my idea was to create the model's look based on a sunflower. When she heard this, she jumped up and down and squealed, turns out, sunflowers are her favorite! Yay!
And so I started making petals from some hand dyed cotton that I'd died a few months back.

The olive green parts of the costume are in this muddle of cloth that is soaking in dye solution.
It took me a while to figure out how I wanted to create the petals that they could be worn, and I'm not ready to give away any secrets at this point... but I do have the petals all attached to ribbons now and I've tried them on and the effect is really fun! I can't WAIT to get my hands on the model, it's going to be so much fun! I should have taken a photo of makeup I've designed for her, or the sketch at least, but that can wait. It is fun to be back in the zone with a new project. And as long as the weather cooperates, I should be sharing photos from this shoot early next week sometime. This one is new and different enough that it fits my AD HD hyper-focus quite nicely. So here's to beauty and inspiration, may you have all you need of both!
-Carmen Rose

Oops! Watch out for that... Snow!

They've got most of the trucks pulled out by now, but here were a few of the "oops's that we saw on the way up the interstate due to the snow. On the last storm we saw a truck that just leaned right over on the bank, it looked perfect except for the fact that it was resting on only half it's tires. I heard that there were parts of the interstate shut down while military vehicles came in to pull the trucks up the hill so that the snow plows could clear the road, so that traffic could move again. One truck got part way up the hill and jack-knifed. Oops!

The second whammy that we got this week didn't bring us much snow, but the wind has joined the party and now we are having significant drifting. DH is just home from driving snow plow, was out at least 16 hours today.
Well, this one isn't a stuck truck but kinda cool that I was able to catch a shot of that helichopper! Aren't the mountains pretty when they are dressed up with snow?!

Wishing you the beauty of a winter snow (without the hazards)
-Carmen Rose

More SNOW

Good morning sunshine! I love what snow and sunshine do when they get together!

Especially when there are cool shadows!

They brought out the heavy equipment to get some of the snow moved.

And we started looking for our autos under the snow.

Yeah, there's one!

As soon as I could break my car free I went for a little drive. I had a really bad case of cabin fever being home alone for far too long. So I took a little drive around the neighborhood and this end of town. It was good to get out.

We spent the evening with my parents. It was good to hug my Dad and remind him that I love him. The super bowl was on and I was working at designing the makeup for the various costumes I'm working on. It was fun.

I'm a little behind on blogging, but really... how many photos of snow can one really tolerate? It's a bit like having chocolate cake for every meal for days on end. I don't care how much you love chocolate cake, at some point it's just going to get old. I adore snow! And I'm sitting by the doors to the upper deck watching it snow now. But we've been hit with some pretty big storms this year and I'm getting ready for Spring.

How about you?
-Carmen Rose

It Came, It Dumped... And So We Dig

It started early Friday morning and snowed until late Saturday. I think it stopped at about twenty inches.

I've spent most of this blizzard stuck home alone and getting cabin fever really bad. My days have consisted of bundling up, going outside to shovel, grabbing some firewood, coming inside to feed the fire and unbundle and try to thaw a bit... and then repeat. My day was very redundant and I've pretty much had enough of this now.

Saturday morning my Mom was cutting my Dad's hair and he lost consciousness and landed face first on the kitchen floor. The neighborhood hadn't been plowed but the ambulance was able to get there and finally to the hospital, though it took some doin with the crazy weather. He came around and they ran lots of tests. His ticker is fine and all the rest of the big scary stuff came back clean. He has exceptionally low blood pressure, so when he doesn't get his coffee it's not a good thing. So he'd only had one cup by noon and he's usually had three by that point. Plus he was hungry, so maybe his blood sugar hit a slump or something. Combine that with an ultra stressful job and spending the morning digging out the heat pump so that it didn't ice over and die... and... well... we're really glad that he's home and ok.

I was home alone and the 4x4 was gone. Normally, I would have jumped in the car to run up there (I live 40 minutes from them) but they'd closed 81 and the plow trucks were on loops just trying to keep up with the snow that was continually dumping on the main roads. I really would have liked to have been there for my Mom. My brother who lives close by them kept me updated and that was really helpful. Little I could do but watch and pray. Well... besides shovel snow, bring in firewood, feed the fire, etc. I am glad he is home and feeling better.

I've got a real sensitivity to caffeine, last time I had a glass of full test iced tea (which was entirely accidental, I assure you!) I had chest pains and little bouts of tachycardia for two days. If I had three cups of coffee by noon I'd be one crazy mess. When I can finally get out of my snow induced confinement, I suppose I'll go see my dad and take him some good coffee. I'm really grateful that it turned so well considering, and that he is ok. I love my Dad!

Makeup Artist for Photo Shoot

I did the makeup for a photo shoot with the photographer and these two beautiful girls, Jessica and Tiffany. It was a shoot to get a feel for how well we worked together because Charles and I both have projects in the works. We were going for a very natural look, so no real dramatic makeup. I was pleased with how the photos turned out and they were sweet girls. We had a lot of fun.

Fishies!

I was outside shoveling snow this morning while the neighbor was loading his car to go fishing.  Fishing in February?  We talked a while and I went inside and he packed his car and headed for West Virginia.  Later that evening I heard my doorbell ringing and there he was with a cooler.  He handed over twelve beautiful fish!  I couldn't believe it!  They'd had so much success pulling fish out of the river that instead of releasing them all he brought some to me.  I've never dressed a fish before, so of course I had to google it to figure out what needed to be done.  Before long I got the hang of it and now they are all dressed and waiting for me to find a sharp enough knife to skin and bone them.  Lunch at my place = fish!  And now I have lemons and butter, all the ingredients for fresh bread and cookies and some produce.  I suppose I'm ready for the snow.

I have decided that fish are beautiful, who wouldn't want to be dressed in their finery?  Shimmering reflective  scales and a body that moves with liquid grace.  Sadly, this one just wasn't very photogenic, you don't get to see all the fancy colors on this one's skin.  But very beautiful in person! 

Though seriously, how many record breaking snows does one need in one winter?  Maybe we could call this one "Injury" and then the storm coming through next Tuesday we could call "Insult."  And the snow hasn't melted from the last storm.  And I LOVE snow.  I suppose I have some cabin fever, I've been cold and feeling cooped up for too long.   I could use a good run on the golf course.  I could use a change of scenery.

The first of my models for the project was by for her fitting today.  She's a tiny little slip of a thing, very beautiful and energetic.  She asked me what I had in mind for her and I quickly gave her the synopsis.  She literally jumped up and down and squealed!  I was so TICKLED by her response!  She went on to tell me how this was perfect for her and gave some examples.  I was a little stunned by all that, but it was what came to me for her and I now know that it's really right for her.  I was going to get started on her costume today but some stuff came up.  And I curled up on the sofa to get some work done and fell right asleep.  I didn't wake up for quite some time and when I did, I felt pretty rough around the edges. 

I finally mustered enough energy to make soup and so I made cream of spinach tofu noodle soup.  Now that may sound a little gross but when I feel sick I go for food that is packed with all kinds of helpful mojo.  The flavors were good and the tofu was pureed into the soup so if you didn't know the tofu was there you'd just think it was a thick creamy soup.

That's when the neighbor showed up with the fish, they were in a cooler packed in snow.  By that time I had kind of passed my second wind and was on to my forth or fifth.  I got all twelve best dressed and tomorrow I'll try my hand at skinning and boning them, I don't have the right knife but hopefully I can find something that will work.  And I'm not sure how I'll cook them yet, but figuring it out will be fun.  Food Network will help me.

Loves and best fishes to you,
-Carmen Rose

Makeup Artist

I worked as a Makeup Artist today. I did makeup and hair, plus created a dress out of a sheet!  Our first photo shoot in the new studio went very nicely. I did hair and makeup for two models, creating a total of three looks. It was fun to meet them and we had a very relaxed and productive time together. I enjoyed the young women and Charles and I work well together so it was fun. I ended up giving out skin care advice and makeup tips and that made me feel a little motherly, plus they really liked the looks I gave them.  That's cool by me.

Charles took a few test shots of me to get some settings on his camera yesterday.  This one was the first shot in that studio and his favorite of the group.  Sometimes the flukes are the most interesting.  I was looking at a number of antique compacts he brought with him, that one was particularly beautiful.

I now have all the gear to do mineral makeup in pretty much any color, including a custom match of an individual’s skin tone in a makeup that is actually good for the skin. I have an airbrush, and that will allow me to do airbrush makeup techniques in addition, opening up another whole world of possibility. (Once I buy the airbrush colors.) I am looking forward to seeing how all the pieces come together for this project.

One more photo of me from the other day.  Note to self:  Do not show up in a photography studio looking like you've just barely made it out of bed in the morning.  Never know when you'll be on the business end of a photographer's camera.

I have lots of costume ideas and lots of cool stuff to work with after all my shopping. There are a few things coming yet, then I can hopefully get this show on the road.  I just need some quality time in the studio, and it appears that I’ll get it in the form of a big snow storm forecasted this weekend. I love snow, but I live in Virginia… and this does not feel like a Virginia winter. I’m growing sick of being cooped up inside. I want to feel the sun on my skin and go for a jog on the golf course on a warm day. I guess it’s all just a matter of time. But isn’t it always?

Grace,
-Carmen Rose